


Time Travel Malfunction

by RunWithWolves



Series: 30 Days of Cupcake [20]
Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Doctor Who AU, F/F, Time Travel AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-07
Updated: 2016-10-07
Packaged: 2018-08-20 03:16:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8234192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunWithWolves/pseuds/RunWithWolves
Summary: Despite Carmila's best efforts, she can't quite control her stubborn, sentient, and scheming time machine. So when the machine plops her down in six-year old Laura Hollis's bedroom, Carmilla is stuck with the wide-eyed child who asks a million questions. After all, once Laura learns about time travel, she's never letting go no matter how old she gets.





	

**Author's Note:**

> It's request week! That means I pull from the 70+ prompts you sent and spend 5 days turning them into stories. Today's prompt(s): 
> 
> -This may have already been done, but I would love to see a Dr. Who AU. Where Laura is the doctor, Carmillia finds her way onto the TARDIS (Laura forgot to lock the door) and now refuses to leave (cus super awesome library! Why would she want to leave?). Huffy Laura and flirty Carmillia shenanigans ensue.  
> -Or just toke travel in general, for Doctor Who nerd lil Laura.  
> \- . My mind's been buzzing with Doctor Who today. Doctor/Companion AU if you have any idea what I am talking about.
> 
> I most definitely know my doctor who ;) *clutches tardis onesie, tardis pillow, tardis mug, tardis shows, dvds to chest*

Slapping a random button, Carmilla was nearly thrown to her knees as the time machine around her jerked to the left with nothing a sea of seemingly random number on the screen. She glared at it, gripped tighter to the console, and tried flipping a lever as she moved in a circle to hit anything she could get her hands on. Nothing changed. The box continued to shudder and flex, ripping through space and time with no regard for her commands. 

While having a sentient time machine allowed for lazy piloting, sometimes it was just the worst.

A particularly large tremor ripped through the machine and Carmilla nearly faceplanted into another screen as the sonic screwdriver stuffed down her bra jammed uncomfortably into her chest.

“Laf!” She hissed, knowing the time machine could hear her, “What do you think you’re doing?”

The time machine lurched sideways and almost seemed to laugh as a nearby safety rail caught her in the stomach, lights flickering. “One day, I’ll gut you,” Carmilla promised, “I’ve had three hundred years to read your instruction manual, remember?”

The ceiling opened the swimming pool was suddenly in the console room. 

Carmilla shoved her wet hair out of her face, trying not to feel like a drowned cat, “That was completely unnecessary and you know it.”

Rubbing her hands together, Carmilla leaned forward and and spun the spinny thing on the console before pulling the train whistle. For a moment, she thought the time machine had given in as the Great Library of Scratilon flashed on the screen, then it disappeared and the time machine leapt upward as numbers flashed back on the monitor

“Why won’t you give this up?” Carmilla swore, gripping the railing as the pool drained from the room. “What could possibly be so interesting about,” she stared harder at the screen, “Silas. 1997?”

A pair of dry clothes fell from the ceiling and landed on her shoulders, just as she looked up her leather jacket smacked her in the face. “Wow.” Carmilla drawled, “Thanks. It’s almost like you weren’t the one to drown me in the first place.” She quickly changed, running her fingers through her wet hair.

She could practically hear Laf telling her not to complain as a huge waft of warm air was suddenly diverted to push up through the floor and whoosh over her. She was dry instantly.

“I am going to feed you your own internal-” Carmilla started.

The door slammed open, cutting off the rest of her words. She spun around, just realizing that the time machine had landed moments before. Only 300 years of life experience kept her jaw from dropping when she caught sight of the girl gaping in the doorway, eyes wide. Maybe 6, the little girl had a tight grip on the yellow blanket in her arms and was wearing a pair of footie pajamas as she took another tentative step into the time machine. Her eyes were huge, circling around the room.

Then those wide brown eyes met Carmilla’s, “This is a TARDIS,” she said. 

Carmilla winced. You pick up one pretty writer, one time and suddenly you’re a famous tv show.

“You’re The Doctor!” the little girl squealed and suddenly Carmilla had a leg full of tiny human as the girl hugged her tight. She looked up and smiled at Carmilla, her front tooth missing, “My name is Laura and you’re the Doctor and I thought you were just a TV show because that’s what Mom said but you’re not! You’re real. And the TARDIS is bigger on the inside and it’s just the best.”

Her smile was practically glowing and Carmilla didn’t know what to do but pat her on the head.

Laura let go of her leg to run over to the console, still squealing. Her eyes barely made it over the edge of the console, “It’s so pretty,” Laura said. 

Laf lit up the buttons of the console in a pretty pattern and Laura giggled. She looked over at Carmilla, “Are you really an alien?”

“Well, I wasn’t born on earth cupcake,” Carmilla drawled. Her tone didn’t seem to bother Laura. If anything, the girl’s smile grew as she turned back towards the console. Her hand had just snuck out, hovering over a button when Carmilla cut in before she could push it, “Alright kid,” Carmilla said, “You need to go back to your parents now.”

“What?!” Laura whirled around, “But I haven’t seen space yet.”

“Yeah. No.” Carmilla walked over and tried to pry Laura’s hands off the console, “You’re cute kid but I’ve got things to do.”

Tiny child hands were much harder to pry off then she’d expected. 

“But why would you appear in my bedroom if you weren’t going to take me to space?” Laura asked.

“Mistake,” Carmilla grunted, still trying to corral Laura to the door. 

“Oh,” Laura’s hands let go of the console and she took a step back. The big smile on her face had disappeared entirely. “S’okay. Sorry.”

This was somehow worse and Carmilla hands hung in the air for a moment before settling in her pockets, “Sorry, kid. But I don’t have time to take every tourist for a joyride.”

Laura nodded but clutched her blanket just a little tighter, she looked over the TARDIS again then turned to Carmilla, “Is space nice?”

“Yeah, cupcake.” Carmilla said, “Space is nice.”

Nice hardly seemed to cut it but how did one describe the swirl of a thousand galaxies or the song of the towers of darillium or the blood of a thousand year old war dripping off her fingers? Some things, children just didn’t need to know. 

Laura’s gaze was already gone, locked on the console again. She pointed to the train whistle, “Can I pull that?”

Carmilla sighed, “Sure. Why not. Once. Then you’re gone.”

The smallest grin burst back across Laura’s face as she ran over to the whistle. She leapt up, trying to grab it but couldn’t quite reach. Trying not to laugh, Carmilla watched her. Laura’s tiny face red with effort as she tried not to trip over the blanket in her arms. 

A book dropped on her head and she flinched. Laf beeped angrily at her. 

Huffing, Carmilla stomped over and picked Laura up.

“Thank you!” Laura said sweetly, then she reached out and pull the whistle. It let out a loud noise and Laura giggled at the sound. “Do they have trains in space?”

“No.”

Laura turned her head to the side, “Then why do you have a whistle?”

Carmilla wasn’t sure why she was still indulging the wiggling child now sitting on her hip, “Because sometimes it’s not a whistle.” Laura opened her mouth to ask another question and Carmilla shook her head, “No more questions, kid. Time to go home.” 

Pouting, Laura crossed her arms as Carmilla started walking towards the door. She could feel Laura’s eyes locked on the side of her head. Carmilla pushed through the TARDIS door and emerged in a bedroom covered in stuffed animals, disney posters, and a ceramic TARDIS mug sitting on the dresser. 

Of course. 

With a quick glance out the window to see the moon shining bright, Carmilla dropped Laura in her bed and roughly shoved the duvet at her, “Here.” Laura took it, snuggling in but still not looking away from Carmilla. There was something about that gaze, locking her in place, “What?” Carmilla snapped, “Something on my face?”

Again, Laura didn’t seem bothered, “Why are you sad?”

Carmilla froze. Then the words slipped out, “I’m not sad.”

“Yes you are,” Laura said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Carmilla shook her head, a scathing reply on her tongue, but Laura was out of bed before she could finish the motion. Standing on the end of the bed, Laura wrapped her arms around Carmilla’s neck. Eyes serious, “It’s okay to be sad. But you shouldn’t be sad alone. That let’s the sad grow. Daddy’s always says that you have to share your sad.”

She gave Carmilla a tighter squeeze and then dropped back into bed. 

Carmilla left, the TARDIS flashing away so that she could bury herself in the Library and add a few more books to her personal collection. Even burying herself away couldn’t get Laura out of her head.

So two months of Laura’s time later, she found herself stepping out of the TARDIS and back into the moon-lit bedroom. Laura’s eyes went wide the moment she saw her and, when Laura smiled, Carmilla could see that her tooth had half grown in. 

Carmilla glared at her, “You get one trip, kid. You want to see a star up close or the singing towers?”

Even though she’s once spent decades just circling around the same star until it exploded, Carmilla couldn’t help but smile when Laura started giggling in wonder as she stared at the star. Her tiny hand gripping Carmilla’s pant leg as she spewed a hundred words a minute. When Laura practically fell out the door of the TARDIS to get a closer look, Carmilla actually chuckled. Moments later, a safety rail suddenly appeared in front of them as another book fell on Carmilla’s head. 

She scowled but kept the door open. 

Stars looked a little different with Laura giggling next to her.

#

Seeing 9 year old Laura was all Laf being stubborn. The TARDIS simply took her back to Laura’s bedroom and refused to move until Carmilla opened the door and let the kid in. Then, they whisked Carmilla and Laura away and dropped them in the middle of the Universal Carnival. 

Laura ate yellow space cotton candy until she threw up. 

It was only natural that, when she saw a planet made entirely of yellow sunbeams that you could actually walk on, she popped over to take 10 year old Laura for a quick tour. 

Twelve year old Laura went to “an actual alien planet, Carm!” and “this must be the biggest waterfall in the whole universe” in one year. 

At thirteen, Carmilla showed up to take Laura to the best candy shop in the universe and somehow got talked into spending Laura’s entire summer vacation travelling her around the galaxy while Laura’s father thought she was on an exchange trip with school. 

She dropped Laura off with an eye roll and a headshake and a promise to take her to the 17th century to see that Countess life was not all it was chalked up to be in textbooks.

They never made it. 

The time war came back and Carmilla had to forget giggling girls and picnics on tropical tundras. She’d never have been able to create the horror that was necessary to end the war if she’d ever imagined she’d see Laura again. 

Monsters do not play with little girls. 

No matter how lonely they both may be. 

#

Even Laf knew better than to push the issue, the TARDIS silent since the war as they skipped through space and time. So, it was a surprise when Carmilla heard something thud on one of the TARDIS’s lower levels. She frowned and looked up at the ceiling, “That you?”

Nothing fell on her head so she assumed no.

With a second glance at the screen to check that they hadn’t landed anywhere, Carmilla stomped downstairs and pulled out her screwdriver. Probably another Gnodarina Bear lurking in the library. She’d thought she’d gotten them all but those suckers were sneaky.

It wasn’t a bear. 

It was much worse than a bear. 

The girl in front of her was older, easily into her mid-twenties, but she still had long brown hair and big brown eyes. The only difference was that, this time, those eyes were frowning at her. Carmilla swallowed involuntarily, trying not to notice that grown-up Laura Hollis was possibly the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. 

Frown and all.

“And where have you been?” Laura asked, her knuckles gripped one of the chairs in Carmilla’s library, “One second it’s all ‘I’ll see you in a few months, cupcake’ and then the next it’s I haven’t seen you in years. I waited. You know. I waited. I figured even if you were busy that you’d show up eventually. Because you have a time machine and you promised me the universe. ‘We’ll go to the singing towers, cupcake’.” Laura’s voice shook before evening out.

Carmilla’s brain couldn’t keep up, “How did you get in here?”

Laura held up her wrist, “Made my own vortex manipulator,” she said, “Wasn’t about to just wait around like some damsel in distress. I want to see the universe.”

Carmilla’s eyes went wide and she jumped forward, grabbing Laura wrist to investigate the device, “Laura. You know those are unstable. You can’t just strap one to your wrist and take off across time and space.”

“Too late. Already did. Hollis for the win!” Laura made a BOOM hand gesture. “Although,” she paused, “i really didn’t mean to end up in here.” She started fiddling with the dials, “Maybe I misjudged slightly? Where even are we?”

“Laura. No.” Carmilla said, “That thing isn’t safe”

Laura walked past her and out to the console room, “Fine. Drop me off at the nearest star system and I’ll figure it out from there.”

Carmilla chased after her, both hearts pumping, “I’m bringing you home. And I’m taking that device. I don’t even know how you got the stardust to power it.”

Laura had a slightly guilty look on her face. 

“You didn’t,” Carmilla said. Laura shrugged. “Of course you did,” Carmilla fought the urge to rub her head, “Remind me to put a lock on the core TARDIS generator.”

“Like that’s going to stop me. Laf loves-” Laura stopped walking and Carmilla nearly ran into her back, “Um. Shouldn’t this be the console room?”

Peering over her shoulder, Carmilla saw that they were right back in the library. Without a word, she turned around and walked back through the door and into the hallway. Moments later, she appeared right back in the library door. She grit her teeth then called, “Laf. Let us out. This isn’t funny.”

She paused then turned around and walked out again.

Straight back to Laura’s wide eyes and the library. 

“Damn it,” Carmilla said, kicking one of the bookshelves. 

Laura looked at the ceiling, “Um. If you could maybe let me out at least? That’d be great? Thanks!” Then she walked out the room. Carmilla held her breath, letting it out only when Laura appeared again. 

“Fish fingers and custard,” Laura said, frowning in a way that was definitely not cute. 

Carmilla shot her a glance, “I never actually say that, you know.”

“Let me enjoy the show!” Laura shot back. 

Throwing her hands in the air, Carmilla looked back up, “Laf. Just let us out. I don’t know what you’re planning but it isn’t funny.”

A book fell on her head. 

Laura snorted then covered her mouth with her hand when Carmilla looked at her. 

“Keep laughing,” Carmilla said, pulling out a chair and plopping into it, “Because it’s apparently going to be a long night, creampuff. We’re stuck.”

**Author's Note:**

> I cannot even describe to you how tired I am. 
> 
> I deeply, deeply appreciate all of your kudos and comments and [tumblr stop-ins](http://ariabauer.tumblr.com/) cupcakes. We just finished week 4 of 6 of this and trust me they already mean the world.
> 
> This is the twentieth story of '30 Days of Cupcake' where I'll be posting a unique Carmilla fanfic every weekday for 30 days. Stay stupendous. Aria.


End file.
